Hassan II, King of Morocco since 1961, died on 23 July 1999 in the capital of Rabat, at the age of 70. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Crown Prince Sidi Mohammed, who acceded to the throne as King Mohammed VI. Hassan's remains were interred at the Mausoleum of Mohammed V in Rabat on 25 July, following an Islamic funeral ceremony.
The Moroccan government officially declared a period of mourning following Hassan's death. Condolences were presented by the new king and officials from multiple countries, as well as the United Nations.
Hassan acceded to the throne of Morocco following his father's death on 26 February 1961.
During a visit to New York in 1995, Hassan was admitted to hospital due to respiratory issues, at which point he was advised by his doctors to quit smoking. He reportedly preferred to avoid being treated outside his home country, in contrast to King Hussein of Jordan, who spent several of his final weeks at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota.
Hassan turned 70 on 9 July 1999. Five days later, he attended the annual Bastille Day military parade in Paris, France as a guest of President Jacques Chirac. On 21 July, two days before his death, he hosted Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh for an official reception dinner in Rabat.[1] [2]
Hassan's health began to decline progressively in the early hours of 23 July. After being admitted to the Royal Palace clinic at 08:00 (UTC), he was placed under observation and responded normally to treatment. At around noon, he fell into a comatose state due to a myocardial infarction and was transferred to the hospital, which later released an official statement indicating that the king was "suffering from acute pneumopathy".[3] [4] By this time, his two sons, Crown Prince Sidi Mohammed and Prince Moulay Rachid, were at his bedside, with his nephew Prince Moulay Hicham boarding a flight bound for Rabat from Paris, while Moroccan state television began broadcasting recitals of the Quran. At 14:15, Sidi Mohammed called Prime Minister Abderrahmane Youssoufi to inform him of his father's declining health.[5]
Hassan was pronounced dead at 16:30. It was publicly announced at 20:40, in a televised speech by Mohammed. An official ascension ceremony took place in the evening, with him taking the title of King Mohammed VI, and Moulay Rachid becoming crown prince. Princes Moulay Hicham and Moulay Ismail also attended, along with members of the government and royal cabinet who swore an oath of allegiance (bay'ah) to the new monarch.[6] [7]
Following the announcement of the king's death, hundreds of mourners visited the Royal Palace in Rabat, and a television anchor on state broadcaster RTM openly cried.[8] A 40-day period of national mourning was declared, with flags due to be flown at half-mast at public and semi-public institutions, as well as Moroccan diplomatic missions abroad.[9] Libération reported that the stock market and public services reopened on 25 July, in spite of the mourning period.[10]
The Polisario Front, which fought a war with Morocco from 1975 to 1991, said Hassan "would be remembered for ruling the disputed territory with ruthless oppression".[11] Polisario leader Mohamed Abdelaziz, in a telegram to King Mohammed VI, said Hassan's death was "tragic news which has deeply afflicted us".[12]
Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika described Hassan's death as "a source of great sadness for me personally and for the majority of Algerians who are proud of the joint heritage between Algeria and Morocco".[13] He was referred to by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak as "a brother, friend and comrade-in-arms", and by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir as "a symbol of moderateness whose support was sought by all" and who had been "a brother and a friend and a messenger of peace among nations". Official mourning was declared in several Arab states.[14] [15]
Israeli president Ezer Weizman referred to Hassan as a "true partner" in the Israeli–Palestinian peace process,[16] while former prime minister Shimon Peres said that Hassan "contributed a great deal" to the peace process. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat paid homage to his "stances in defence of the Palestinian people and their right to establish an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital". Following the announcement of Hassan's death, Arafat suspended a meeting of Palestinian leadership in Gaza. The Palestinian leadership declared three days of official mourning.
President Jacques Chirac of France, who at the time was in Nigeria for a state visit, expressed his "immense pain", referring to Hassan as "a man who loved our country and who loved the French". A planned dinner for Chirac hosted by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo was cancelled following the king's death. Prime Minister Lionel Jospin remarked that "throughout his reign, marked by a unique relationship of friendship and trust between Morocco and France, the King has embodied the fundamental values of his country, in its traditions as well as in its openness to the world".[17]
US President Bill Clinton released an official statement saying that the "prayers of all Americans go out to the royal family and the people of Morocco".[18] In a later interview, he remarked that Hassan had "worked very hard to reconcile the differences among the Moroccan people, within Morocco, and therefore, to set an example of the kind of thing that all of us should be doing".[19] Russian President Boris Yeltsin, in a telegram of condolences, referred to Hassan as "a wise leader who had worked tirelessly for peace". Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, said that Hassan would be remembered for "dedication and fortitude", while Queen Elizabeth II privately conveyed her condolences to King Mohammed VI.[20]
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan remarked, "By serving as a bridge of peace between different nations and cultures, King Hassan made Morocco itself a bridge of understanding and cooperation between Europe and Africa, North and South, East and West." During a plenary meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on 28 July, President Didier Opertti and representatives of the United Nations Regional Groups paid tribute, and a minute of silence was observed.[21]
Islamic custom dictates that a burial should take place as soon as possible after death, usually within 24 hours.[22] The Moroccan cabinet, headed by Abderrahmane Youssoufi, held an extraordinary meeting on 24 July to discuss the implementation of the funeral proceedings, which were subsequently delayed by a day to allow time for foreign dignitaries to travel to Rabat.
At approximately 15:00 (UTC) on 25 July, Hassan's coffin, draped in a cloth depicting the Shahada in golden writing, was placed on a gun carriage after being carried outside the royal palace, and the national anthem was sung. His relatives, including King Mohammed VI and Crown Prince Moulay Rachid, followed the procession.[23] Hundreds of thousands of mourners lined the route, many of them praying, crying, or holding pictures of the king. Some isolated cases of fainting were reported.[24]
Following the arrival of the coffin at the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, senior members of the Moroccan royal family led a congregation at the nearby Hassan Mosque, performing the Asr prayer, followed by the salat al-janazah (funeral prayer), before Hassan's remains were buried within the mausoleum.[25] [26]
Representatives from over 45 countries visited Rabat for the funeral proceedings, including 36 heads of state and government. Many dignitaries marched in front of Hassan's coffin during the funeral procession, with only Muslim foreign representatives attending the funeral service at the al-Hassan Mosque.[27]
Hafez al-Assad, President of Syria, was expected to attend the funeral, but for unknown reasons cancelled his attendance immediately beforehand.[28]
The Emir of Bahrain[29]
The King of Belgium
The Prince Takamado (representing the Emperor of Japan)[30]
The King of Jordan
The Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Kuwait (representing the Emir of Kuwait)
Princess Margriet of the Netherlands (representing the Queen of the Netherlands)
The Crown Prince of Norway (representing the King of Norway)
Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Oman (representing the Sultan of Oman)
The Crown Prince of Qatar (representing the Emir of Qatar)
Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, Minister of Defence of Saudi Arabia (representing the King of Saudi Arabia) Prince Saud bin Faisal Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia
The King and Queen of Spain[31]
The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Crown Prince of Dubai (representing the President of the United Arab Emirates)
The Prince of Wales (representing the Queen of the United Kingdom)
Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh
Mathieu Kérékou, President of Benin[32]
Blaise Compaoré, President of Burkina Faso
Paul Biya, President of Cameroon
Hosni Mubarak, President of Egypt
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of Equatorial Guinea
Jacques Chirac, President of France, and Bernadette Chirac
Johannes Rau, President of Germany[33]
Lansana Conté, President of Guinea
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, President of Italy[34]
Émile Lahoud, President of Lebanon
Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, President of Mauritania
Olusegun Obasanjo, President of Nigeria
Muhammad Rafiq Tarar, President of Pakistan
Aleksander Kwaśniewski, President of Poland
Jorge Sampaio, President of Portugal
Abdou Diouf, President of Senegal
Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa José María Aznar, Prime Minister of Spain
Ruth Dreifuss, President of the Swiss Confederation
Gnassingbé Eyadéma, President of Togo
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, President of Tunisia
Süleyman Demirel, President of Turkey
Ali Abdullah Saleh, President of Yemen Louis Michel, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium
Roméo LeBlanc, Governor General of Canada Ryutaro Hashimoto, former Prime Minister of Japan Knut Vollebæk, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway Robin Cook, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom
Abdelaziz Bouteflika, President of Algeria Smail Hamdani, Prime Minister of Algeria[36]
Ezer Weizman, President of Israel Ehud Barak, Prime Minister of Israel Shimon Peres, former Prime Minister of Israel (1984–1986; 1995–1996)
Bill Clinton, President of the United States, and First Lady Hillary Clinton[37] George H. W. Bush, former President of the United States (1989–1993) Sandy Berger, National Security Advisor Benjamin Gilman, chairman of the House Committee on International Relations Warren Christopher, former U.S. Secretary of State (1993–1997) James Baker, former U.S. Secretary of State (1989–1992)